Epiphany
by Baby Rose
Summary: My first Escaflowne songfic. It's sort of FolkenHitomi, but it's rather one sided, if you know what I mean. Set to Staind's Epiphany, from Folken's POV. Just before fighting Dornkirk, Folken has to decide if he's brave enough to admit his true feelings


**Disclaimer: **Escaflowne belongs to Bandai and Sunrise. I make no profit out of this fic, it's merely for my entertainment, and yours. I also don't own Staind's song, "Epiphany," though I really wish I did cuz it's an awesome song.

**Author's Note: **This is my first Escaflowne ficlet, so please be nice! I had an Escaflowne veteran read this for me, and she said it was pretty good, so I thought I'd post it up here for ya'll to read. I tried to do an okay job with Folken's character, and I tried to make it as close to the series as possible while still making it a romance. So let me know how I did! Thanks! (Recommended that you read this with "Epiphany" playing, it makes it sooo much better!)

_**Epiphany**_

The sound of machinery clanking and crunching together filled my ears as I worked on the device that would save Gaea. All of the events leading up to this day would finally come to a close, and the inhabitants of Gaea could be granted peace.

At last, I discovered a way to stop the madness Dornkirk created. It had taken hours of experimentation and extreme patience, but I was certain this would work. The world would be free of Dornkirk's insanity, including the people of Zaibach, Asturia, Van, and most importantly...

I picked up the light sound of footsteps on the concrete floor coming toward me timidly. _You've no reason to be afraid of me, Hitomi. I know what you come here seeking. It is not for my council, nor my comfort, but for Van. _

Since the night I watched her near the fountain in Palas, Hitomi Kanzaki was the only thing I could think about. Despite my age, not to mention slight conflict of interest with the girl, I found myself wishing only to hold her again, as well as much more. The sudden feelings baffled me, and I knew I could never voice such thoughts, so I kept them carefully hidden. Not a difficult task for a man such as I; I had practiced that art since I was young.

I did not turn around when I sensed her directly behind me. Keeping emotion out of my voice, I asked, "You want to help Van?" I could read her intentions clearly before she told me of them, another area in which I was skilled.

_Your words to me just a whisper_

_Your faces so unclear_

_I try to pay attention_

_Your words just disappear, oh_

"Folken," she started, her voice painfully shy, "please tell me how to create a column of light, and go to Zaibach. I want to see Dornkirk and ask him to stop this war."

Easier said than done. Dornkirk was not the peacemaking type in the least. If Hitomi faced him herself, she could become the victim of a fate I could never live with, nor forgive myself for. "He isn't a person who listens to others," I told her simply. "Besides, if something should happen to you, Van would feel sad." As would I. "I'm going to confront Dornkirk."

Turning around slowly, her face was revealed to me and a pang shot through my heart. Everything reflecting in her eyes - concern, fear, love - was for Van. Below the surface, her heart beat for my little brother. Irony delighted in seeking me out to laugh in my face.

_Cuz it's always rainin' in my head_

_Forget all the things I should have said_

Pushing the thoughts away, I motioned to the piece of equipment I would use when I went before Dornkirk. "This wave, which is tuned to the Atlantis Machine, should be able to create the column of light. That's why I took this device from the _Vione. _I will settle this."

"Folken..." She said my name as if to protest, so I turned back to the wave. Partly because I couldn't bear to look at her any longer, but also because I didn't want her to continue arguing about seeing Dornkirk.

She stood behind me for a few minutes longer, presumably deciding whether to fight about the subject or not. I figured she would walk out of the laboratory, but she stayed. I pretended to be busy as she stood there, as if I didn't care that she was so close, until she spoke. My hands stopped moving when she spoke again.

"You don't always have to be so strong, you know," she told me quietly. "Van is just like you. He always wanted to be like you. But you don't always have to be the leader, and you don't always have to act like you're responsible. There are people who love you, Folken."

I could bring myself to say nothing in return, so I went back to work and listened to her leave the laboratory. When I was certain she was gone, I let my indifferent exterior fall and placed a hand over my face, ready to fall apart.

_So I speak to you in riddles_

_Cuz my words get in my way_

_I smoke the whole thing to my head_

_And feel it wash away_

Hitomi came to me again the next day. It was no surprise...I expected her persistence for peace. Again, I resisted the urge to turn around until I composed myself. Thankfully, she spoke first.

"Folken!" she called, still walking closer to me. _Stop, _I begged her silently. _Don't get too close. _"Van's suffering. I want to help Van."

I closed my eyes against the words, telling her quietly, "I was certain you'd come."

"But I saw..." she started, sounding slightly desperate, "Folken...you might die in Zaibach, Folken."

Die? Why did that word have so little affect on me? Had it been any other time, I would've felt alarmed; frightened, even. But now...I simply felt hollow. Dying seemed more of a blessing than a curse, freeing me of a world that no longer needed a Strategos. Releasing me of people who never needed a Folken.

"I saw something terrible," she continued, her voice shaky. I wasn't stupid enough to think for a moment that she was scared of my fate. Her concern would never be for me.

"You don't need to worry about that," I assured her, "I don't have much time left in my life." Removing my cloak and shirt, I released the wings that protruded from my back and turned to her. They spread themselves fully, reaching with hungry fingers to the sky, longing to take flight. But their ebony color and molting feathers forbid such action to occur.

"A reversal of fortune is shortening my life," I explained. "These black wings attest to that."

She gasped and placed her hands over her mouth. "Shortening your life?" she repeated. "But...Folken, I don't want you to die. You can't die! You're a good man, really, I know you are! You don't deserve to die!"

_Cuz I can't take any more of this_

_I wanna come apart_

_Or dig myself a little hole_

_Inside your precious heart, oh_

"I'll atone for my sin of serving Dornkirk with my life. That is my fate." My tone was even and accepting.

"No, Folken! If you die...Van will be sad. I don't want to see Van sad, or any of us sad. You don't want to make us sad, do you?"

"Van will be able to overcome it," I said, "leaving me behind for a new world. As will everyone else." I loved my little brother from the moment I laid eyes on him. I was willing to share my parents with him, but I couldn't share Hitomi with him. I couldn't tell if she included herself in 'any of us,' but I assumed she meant it generically.

"That's not right!" she cried. "I'll change such a sad fate!"

Suddenly Hitomi's magenta colored pendant began to glow, and the machine I had created was activated. A pillar of light surrounded and engulfed us, taking us to Dornkirk and landing us at his feet, just as I hoped it would. Now I could finish this once and for all.

"Where are we?" Hitomi asked.

_Cuz it's always rainin' in my head_

_Forget all the things I should have said_

I ignored Hitomi's question, and Dornkirk kept talking. "Everything is in place. All elements are in my hands. It is time to fully activate the Fate Redirector. Everything is going as I wish."

My brow furrowed. "Your wish...?"

"Yes," he responded in his deep, old, authoritative voice I had grown accustomed to hearing and obeying. "I guided fate so you'd bring the girl from the Mystic Moon here."

Now my expression turned to one of anger. He was going too far with this lunacy. "How much are you going to twist fate!?" I demanded, staring up at him in fury.

"Stupid question. You know what I think, don't you?"

Of course I did. I didn't serve that man for so many years of my life to learn nothing from it. I knew what went through his sick mind, and how much he wished to take over the world. "Then you know of my determination, right?"

"You came to kill me, right?" he said. We knew each other better than either one of us cared to admit.

Hitomi gasped at his inquiry, and I did not deny his statement. "Go ahead, kill me," he said. "There's no one to stop you!"

_I am nothing more than_

_A little boy inside_

_That cries out for attention_

_Yet I always try to hide_

The invitation was appealing. Drawing my sword, I raised it into the air, ready to strike the man down at a moment's notice.

"Folken!" Hitomi cried, but even she could no longer stop me. This was something I knew I had to do. I watched intently as Dornkirk rose from the pedestal to reveal his shriveled, wrinkled, withered old body and fought the urge to recoil.

"Come on, Folken," he taunted, holding out his thin arms and laughing hysterically.

He had to be stopped, now or never. "You monster!" I yelled, spreading my wings for what would be the last time, and racing up toward him.

_Cuz I talk to you like children_

_Though I don't know how I feel_

_But I know I'll do the right thing_

_If the right thing is revealed_

I could hear Hitomi's voice behind me, "Folken! Don't!" as I landed in front of Dornkirk, but I paid no heed. _This is for you, Hitomi, _I thought, and brought down the sword in the middle of Dornkirk's body. He split in half, and neon green blood spurted everywhere. My sword hit the platform with a resounding _chink, _and before I knew what had happened, I felt a sharp pain enter my chest. Looking down, I beheld the tip of my sword embedded in my flesh.

Searing pain surged through my body, and I knew this was the moment. I got to be the hero I always wanted to be, for Hitomi and for the rest of Gaea. Watching the lava lamps surrounding Dornkirk's torn body drain, it suddenly became clear what was happening all along.

"I see," I said, my voice strained against the pain. "This is the center of redirecting fate, where action and reaction are at their strongest." Shaking my head, I added, "But the war will end. I wish true peace to Gaea."

All my strength failing, I fell back from the pedestal and continued to plummet downward without the aid of my wings. I slammed into the floor, agony burning through me, and watched my own blood pool around me.

My eyes meeting Hitomi's wide olive ones, I knew this was my one last chance to say it. The question was, did I have the courage? Even as I lay there dying, I was still afraid to reveal my true feelings.

"Hitomi, I...love you."

_Cuz it's always rainin' in my head_

_Forget all the things I should have said..._

I knew nothing more but darkness.


End file.
